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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036728">Christmas Time in Atlantis City</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atlantech/pseuds/Atlantech'>Atlantech</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Atlantech</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas, Christmas Special, Cute, Gift, Justin acts like a brat, Maxwell acts like an ass, Other, atlantech - Freeform, friendships, funny moments, snickerdoodles and ham!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:02:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036728</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atlantech/pseuds/Atlantech</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever wondered how the people of Atlantis City celebrate Christmas? It's not so different than it was on Earth over a hundred years ago. In fact, the holiday appears to still bring everyone together, from the rich and the poor, to the human and the Tjatey.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Friendships - Relationship, No romance - Relationship, platonic - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Christmas Time in Atlantis City</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sassy_Lil_Scorpio/gifts">Sassy_Lil_Scorpio</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rapscallion7780/gifts">Rapscallion7780</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Christmas Time in Atlantis City</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Ah, Christmas Eve at last,” Justin sighed blissfully, sipping his hot latte while he gazed out the café window at all the colorful lights and festive displays across the way. When it came to the holidays, the downtown part of the great city seemed to put a lot more effort into their Christmas spirit, while Gambler’s Strip on the other hand, had a lot less to show for it. Justin assumed this was because Morane was nothing but an old Scrooge who hated seeing the people of his city happy for a change instead of feeling as miserable as him. Justin’s father unfortunately wasn’t any different.</p><p> Nevertheless, Justin had been looking forward to Christmas, apart from having to visit his father for a couple of hours. Justin figured he’d just pick up a bottle of booze, stick it in a box and call that his father’s Christmas present, even though drinking was the last thing his dad needed to be doing since the man was an alcoholic. Justin didn’t care at least he’d get him drunk quick enough so that he’d pass out, and then  Justin could leave and spend the holiday with the people that mattered the most to him; his friends.</p><p>William and Stan were now seated across from him, although it seemed Justin was the one doing all the talking at the moment, as William remained quiet, sipping from his own mug while Stan appeared to be a little preoccupied, staring at one of the tree shaped Christmas cookies he’d picked up from the plate in the center of the table. Neither Justin nor William knew it, but Christmas was something very new to Stan, but then again they were also oblivious to the fact that their so-called best friend was nothing more than an android disguised as a human soldier; acting as a spy for Morane and the corrupt city council.</p><p>But all around him, Stan observed nothing but cheerfulness coming from the humans in the way they greeted and saw one another off using one very simple phrase; Merry Christmas. What was it about these two magical words that appeared to elicit nothing but pure joy in these humans? Stan found it most fascinating.</p><p> “Can you believe in a few days it’ll be the year 4000?” Justin then mentioned excitedly, interrupting Stan’s thoughts. “Man, I can’t believe how fast time’s gone by. It seems only yesterday I was a new recruit. Now I’ve been promoted to Corporal.” Justin took another slow sip from his mug, savoring the rich peppermint flavor. He was definitely going to miss this drink, which was only available until New Year’s.</p><p>“Hey, are you going to eat that already, or are you just going to keep staring at it?” Justin griped at Stan, pointing at the cookie in his hand.</p><p>Giving the green sprinkled treat one final glance, Stan carelessly handed it over to Justin, who graciously accepted.</p><p>“Thanks!” Justin said with his mouth full after biting off the top part of the tree, and then added. “Man, without a doubt these are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had. You two have no idea what you’re missin.”</p><p>“You mean loads of carbohydrates and fats?” William remarked with smugness, taking another sip of his hazelnut cappuccino, before setting the mug down on the table, and then wrapping his arms tightly around himself once he felt the icy draft every time someone entered or left the building.</p><p>The artificial temperature for the city had been lowered down to about 20 degrees in order to mimic the feeling of a cold winter season on earth therefore it was practically freezing out. The young soldiers were even dressed in heavy winter coats over thick cardigan sweaters, along with thick warm gloves, hats, and scarves. Outside, the sidewalk, windows, and building all had a thin layer of frost and ice, which was the closest the people of Atlantis City would ever get to real snow. There had been rumors about some kind of snow machine being in the works over at Atlantech. However, it had been quite a few years since anyone last heard anything more about it. Some believed it must have been a failure and was scrapped.</p><p>“After this we should all head to Emory Memorial Park for the tree lighting ceremony,” Justin suggested next. “There’s gonna be all kinds of goodies and lots of festival games. We could all enter the potato sack race, wouldn’t that be fun?”</p><p>Stan shot Justin a quizzical look. “Potato sack race?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Justin was grinning ear to ear. “Don’t tell me you’ve never done it before.”</p><p>“Actually I haven’t,” Stan replied flatly, and then looked over at William, wondering if he had any inkling as to what Justin was talking about. “You?”</p><p>“Not since Alley and I were <em>kids</em>,” William answered unfavorably, now giving Justin a blank stare.</p><p>“Well you guys aren’t any fun,” Justin grumbled, taking another sip from his mug. His drink was already beginning to turn lukewarm from the cold air as it continually seeped its way in through the door each time someone pulled it open. The decorative sleigh-bells at the top sounded like a festive alarm as it opened and closed, as though to remind everyone it was the most wonderful time of the year.</p><p>However, Christmas cheer or not, Justin couldn’t hide the disappointment he was feeling now, and neither could William ignore it for that matter, which is what suddenly made him reconsider since it was plain to see this whole tree lighting thing really meant a great deal to Justin. And despite how childish William might have found it, it was Christmas, therefore William figured he could stand to lose a little of his dignity for one day. He certainly didn’t want to come across as a stick in the mud.</p><p>“No, we’ll go,” William insisted then, exchanging awkward looks with Stan. “You’re right it could be a lot of fun. Besides, we don’t get to experience too much of that as it is.</p><p>Justin beamed. “I knew I could count on you guys. Afterwards we could go see Victoria’s new Christmas movie for the one-millionth time,” he razzed, now putting William on the spot.</p><p>“At least it’s a good movie,” William shot back, taking a sip from his own mug before pulling a disgruntled face once he realized his drink wasn’t so hot anymore. “Now my drink’s cold,” he griped.</p><p>“What about that dinner in the mess hall the AMF has every year?” Stan brought up next. “Or are we just going to skip that?”</p><p>Justin shook his head. “Nah, we’ll make that for sure. I certainly don’t want to miss out on that Christmas ham the captain brings every year. It’s one of the only times we actually get to have real meat for dinner on the base for a change. The only other time is during thanksgiving, but the turkey is always dry for some reason,” he cringed.</p><p>“Doesn’t the captain have to go into Gambler’s Strip to get that ham?” William asked.</p><p>Justin nodded, as Stan sat quietly listening. “Yeah he does, only because it’s the best quality there is. He also gets a few bottles of that hard apple cider too, which the Tjatey always get extremely sloshed on,” Justin chuckled. “I’ve never seen anything more amusing in my entire life. Your ancestors are such light-weights, Will, why is that?”</p><p>William shrugged. “I suppose it’s because they never had alcohol till they met the humans. They’re not used to it.”</p><p>“Well, last year one of those guys got so shit-faced he started rambling on and on about some past war victory, and then tried to dance to the Christmas music till he keeled over,” Justin mused. “Your ancestors could use some dancing lessons too by the way. But at least they seem to enjoy being included in our holiday plans, even if they don’t understand what it is.”</p><p>“My mother knew enough,” William added, finishing the last drop of his drink and then setting the empty mug down.</p><p>Justin suddenly grabbed another cookie off the tray; one shaped like a candy cane with red and white sugar sprinkles, and bit off the end.</p><p>“She always made sure we had plenty of eggnog too,” William shuddered. “Because of her I will never drink that crap again.”</p><p>“Doesn’t bother me,” Justin gave a careless shrug before taking another bite from his cookie.</p><p> William rolled his eyes. “Well I’m finished with my drink, are you about finished with yours, or do you also plan on devouring the whole tray of cookies while you’re at it?”</p><p>Justin stopped mid-bite and stuck his tongue out at him.</p><p>“Real mature, Church,” William remarked, rolling his eyes again. “Then you wonder why nobody on the base takes you seriously?”</p><p>Justin said nothing more as he picked up his mug and loudly slurped up the last of his drink, drawing a bunch of disturbed looks from the rest of the people inside.</p><p>William groaned and buried his face in his hands in order to hide the embarrassment, while Stan remained nonchalant, merely observing the chaos around him.</p><p>“There, I’m done,” Justin said curtly, using the sleeve of his winter coat to wipe his mouth. “Let’s go.”</p><hr/><p>A that very same moment, Victoria Thompson was visiting with Enrique at The Card Shack, assisting him in putting up some Christmas some décor around the bar since Maxwell was busy hiding upstairs in his office. She knew Maxwell couldn’t stand Christmas, and that the instant he came downstairs to complain about god knows what, that’s when he would see all the Christmas decorations and really have a fit, or a <em>wobbly</em> as Maxwell referred to it in true British fashion.</p><p>Victoria herself, was all dressed up for the holidays, wearing a long sleeved red velvet dress with a ruffled v-neck, and a faux poinsettia pinned on the right shoulder. Enrique smiled warmly, admiring the cheerful blonde as she spread out some lovely garland across the bar’s counter top, and then set to work helping Enrique hang a string of colorful lights around the bar shelves. To top it off, Victoria placed miniature Christmas trees on either end of the bar counter, and then took a step back to admire the view. Enrique happily joined her.</p><p>“I can’t tell you how much this means to me, Miss Thompson,” he smiled at her. “It was so nice of you to take time off from filming to come down here and visit me. My mother will be working late tonight so I won’t see her till morning.”</p><p>“Oh, Enrique, I am so sorry, sweetie,” she pulled him close and hugged him tight. “You’re more than welcome to join me at home. I don’t have any family or friends either, just you.”</p><p>Enrique seemed a little surprised by her response. “Not even any friends in the film industry?”</p><p>“Aside from film work we have nothing else in common,” she replied as they broke apart. “I’ve got mother back home, but only in spirit. But I suppose that’s better than nothing?”</p><p>Hearing this, Enrique frowned. “Well, at least we can celebrate while you’re here.”</p><p>“Not so fast!” Maxwell rudely interrupted them as he suddenly emerged from the game room, mad as a hornet. “Just what in bloody hell do you think the two of you are doing?” He narrowed his eyes at them, clenching both his fists at his sides. “And what in god’s name is all this tawdry shite!? Get it out of my sight this instant!”</p><p>“Oh, don’t be such a Scrooge, Maxwell,” Victoria razzed as she picked up a festive wreath and placed it over his head where it hung about his neck. “It’s Christmas.”</p><p>“Not funny at all, Miss Thompson.” Maxwell’s face flustered red with anger as he crossed his arms.</p><p>Humored, Victoria reached up and pinched him on the cheek while she sang in a deep voice, <em>♪Maxwell with your face so bright won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?♪</em></p><p>Enrique cupped a hand over his mouth and snorted. Maxwell on the other hand, wasn’t the least bit amused.</p><p>“Not funny, Miss Thompson,” he muttered, knitting his brows.</p><p>
  <em>♪All of the other stuffed-shirts, used to laugh and call him names, they never let poor Maxwell join in any stuffed-shirt games♪</em>
</p><p>Maxwell scowled at her. “Are you finished?”</p><p>She smirked. <em>♪Maxwell the yes-man was a sloppy grumpy soul, with a cheap old vest and even cheaper slacks and who was known as thee ass-hole.♪</em></p><p>Enrique was now in complete stitches from laughing so hard. He didn’t even care that Maxwell heard him. “<em>Muy divertido!”</em> He cackled, clutching at his side. He didn’t think he could laugh anymore without hurting himself in the process.</p><p>“Oh sod off already you wanker!” Maxwell quipped irritably at him. “Both of you for that matter,” he gave her another scalding look, before he pulled the wreath off and tossed it on the ground. “I want every last bit of this garbage in my establishment gone at once, you hear!?”</p><p>Without so much as an answer, Victoria turned back around, and then walked over to the bar counter to begin removing the garland and miniature Christmas trees, all the while singing, <em>♪Cheap booze he told me, chump cha cha cha chump♪</em></p><p>Enrique busted out laughing once more, further enraging Maxwell.</p><p>“You laugh one more time and I will fire your bloody arse for good you hear?!” He warned now.</p><p>Silence filled the room then, but even with his back turned Enrique was smirking, and so was Victoria for that matter.</p><p>“Good then, I’m glad we understand each other,” Maxwell threw over his shoulder a moment later. “Now I’ll be heading back to my office, and when I return I don’t want to see any more of this Christmas shite, are we clear?”</p><p>“Yes, Sir,” Enrique replied with a heavy sigh, when Victoria started singing again.</p><p>
  <em>♪Maxwell, Maxwell, Maxwell, Maxwell, born is the king of Cheapskate♪</em>
</p><p>Maxwell grumbled under his breath, and shook his head one last time before walking off.</p><p>Once he was gone, Enrique laughed again and smiled wide as could be. “Oh, Miss Thompson you’re such a comedian. You should do more comedy roles, you’d be good at it.”</p><p>She smiled appreciatively. “You think so?”</p><p>He nodded as he helped her take down the Christmas lights. “Yes, M’am.”</p><p>“Well, sadly it ain’t up to me, sweetie, it all depends on the studio and they want to me to be sexy not funny,” she explained, tossing the string of lights back into the box. “I’m glad you see me differently though, cause nobody else seems to.”</p><p>The corners of his mouth turned down.</p><p>“Have you eaten yet?” She suddenly asked.</p><p>“No not yet,” he answered timidly. “Why?”</p><p>“Me neither, wanna join me for dinner?” She then offered, holding out her hand to him.</p><p>“Really?” His eyes lit up with excitement. “Where will we go?”</p><p>“We’ll have dinner at the Ritz,” she smiled softly. “That way neither of us has to be alone on Christmas.” She then walked over and collected her coat off the back of one of the bar-stools, and slipped it on.</p><p>“But what about the rest of the decorations?” Enrique pointed out worriedly. “He told us to get rid of it all, remember?”</p><p>“Oh, screw him,” she huffed in annoyance as she slung her purse over her right shoulder. “If he wants the rest of it gone he can do it himself. We’re going to dinner now anyways.” She held out her hand to him again, and he accepted it.</p><p>“Thank you so much for this, Miss Thompson,” he smiled through tears of happiness, slipping his own coat on over his uniform. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”</p><p>She smiled back, and then hand in hand they walked out of the building together.</p><hr/><p>Meanwhile at the AMF’s military base, the three female flight control officers were standing outside the academy building in their winter attire, smoking cigarettes and discussing their plans for the evening.</p><p>“It’s only about ten to seven now,” Lucy mentioned looking down at her wristwatch. “The Christmas dinner in the mess hall won’t be starting till an hour from now, so we still have plenty of time to get a little caroling in before then.”</p><p>Grace Hanes took a long drag of her cigarette, while Mipsy tapped the ash buildup off hers.</p><p>Just then, a few former Tjatey warriors dressed in winter attire walked by them, looking to be heading inside the building to prepare for the dinner.</p><p>“Merry Christmas!” Mipsy beamed at them.</p><p>The two males exchanged confused looks, and then one of them reciprocated by saying, “Merry Christmas to you as well.” There was a bit of a pause before the other one timidly asked, “Do you have a cigarette to spare?”</p><p>“Sure!” Mipsy replied, pulling out her carton and offered him one.</p><p>“Thank you,” the former warrior smiled up at her as he stuck it into his mouth, and then pulled out his lighter to light it.</p><p>“I hope you fellas worked up an appetite, cause I baked a ton of Christmas treats for you,” Grace mentioned then, taking another drag.</p><p>Both of the former warriors looked excited as could be now.”Snicker doodles?” One of them asked anxiously.</p><p>She nodded. “I know how much you guys enjoyed those last Christmas, so I made sure to include a batch this year as well, just for you.”</p><p>“Any fudge?” Mipsy’s eyes glittered, when Lucy suddenly elbowed her softly in the gut.</p><p>“You’ll get fat,” she warned flatly.</p><p>Mipsy stuck her bottom lip out and pouted.</p><p>“Yes, Dearie. I made plenty of that as well,” Grace answered then, taking another drag from her cigarette.</p><p>“I like this Christmas very much,” one of the warriors happily stated, while the other was quietly smoking their cigarette.</p><p>“What are your names?” Mipsy now asked them.</p><p>“I’m Chenzira,” the blonde warrior replied, and then pointed at his green haired comrade, “and that’s Gyasi.”</p><p>Gyasi took another drag from his cigarette, and nodded at them all. “I can’t wait to eat ham and snicker doodles.”</p><p>The women giggled at him, and then Grace spotted Lynne all dressed up in a thick red coat, coming up the steps to head inside.</p><p>Seeing them all, Lynne stopped and gave a friendly wave of her gloved hand. “Merry Christmas,” she said cheerfully.</p><p>“Merry Christmas!” They all replied in unison.</p><p>Lynne smiled warmly, and then pulled open the door to head in.</p><p>Grace appeared a bit surprised to see their commanding officer looking and acting so content for a change. It was a lot different compared to her usual strict persona she gave off, which had Grace wondering if she’d merely put that on hold for one day just so she could enjoy herself. Either way it was a nice change of pace.</p><p>“Almost finished with my ciggy, and then we’ll go caroling,” Grace mentioned to the girls a moment later.</p><p>Mipsy took one final drag of her cigarette and then tossed the butt on the ground, stamping it out with the toe of her boot. “Ready when you are!”</p><p>“What’s caroling?” Chenzira asked curiously then.</p><p>“It’s when we go around downtown singing Christmas songs together,” Lucy answered. “We’d ask you two to join us but sadly your kind isn’t permitted to leave the base.”</p><p>“It’s just a safety precaution,” Grace added, finishing her cigarette. “Nothin more, nothing less.”</p><p>“Oh,” Chenzira noted, sounding rather disappointed.</p><p>And then Mipsy sweetly said, “Don’t worry you’re not missing anything special. We only do it as a form of charity to help out the homeless shelters. The Christmas dinner here on the base is really all the rage.”</p><p>“Yep, it’s the bee’s knees,” Lucy nodded in agreement. “And we’re glad you get to be a part of that.”</p><p>Hearing this, both of the warriors smiled.</p><p>“Okay girls, ready to go?” Grace suddenly asked, adjusting her scarf.</p><p>They both nodded and answered in unison, “Yep!”</p><p>Mipsy turned towards the two former warriors and smiled. “We’ll see you guys at the dinner in an hour, have fun!”</p><p>“You too!” Chenzira called after her, while Gyasi was busy finishing the last of his cigarette.</p><p>The three women smiled, and then turned around and headed down the steps towards the main gate.</p><hr/><p>“Now that’s a Christmas tree,” Justin said in awe, as he, William, and Stan, stood in the background, watching as the city-folk finished wrapping the rest of the lights around the large tree. Many civilians were  also gathered around as they waited for the lights to come on. There were even some people from Gambler’s Strip that had come here to celebrate as well, which Justin found rather hard to believe, but then again not everybody in Morane’s part of the city was a Scrooge.</p><p>All throughout the park, were a bunch of festive stands selling an assortment of treats and other goods for the official gathering. There was even a live jazz band playing their own renditions of classic Christmas songs in the background, as well as a small ice rink. Justin was already heading over to check that out, while William and Stan reluctantly followed behind. William could already tell they were going to spend the next hour chasing after Justin just so they wouldn’t lose him.</p><p>“Check it out!” Justin pointed out excitedly, as he stood outside the ice rink, holding onto the guardrail. There were already quite a few people inside skating about, and looking to be having the time of their lives.</p><p>“We definitely gotta try that,” Justin mentioned to the others, watching as one of the young women cheerfully spun around, and then suddenly slipped and fell right on her butt.</p><p>Seeing this, William flinched.</p><p>“Yes, we definitely need to try falling down on our butts,” Stan remarked with sarcasm, eying William in that moment.</p><p>“Oh man, there’s so much to see and do, you guys!” Justin exclaimed in awe, inhaling deep once he caught the sweet aroma of hot chocolate nearby. “I need to get me some of that!” He then took off sprinting, heading right for the hot chocolate stand to get in line.</p><p>William groaned, shaking his head. “It feels a lot like we’re babysitting a kid, doesn’t it?”</p><p>Stan didn’t appear to have any comment, which made William sigh.</p><p>“Come on, let’s go catch him before he runs off again.”</p><p>After purchasing a cup, Justin had turned around and nearly bumped right into William as he was walking up to him. He was looking very irritated to say the least.</p><p>“Whoa, careful!” Justin warned him, showing him his capped drink with its little candy cane straw. “This stuff is hot, you do not want me to spill any of this on you.”</p><p>William huffed and rolled his eyes. “Can we just stick together from now on, please? Stan and I have been chasing you all over the park since we got here!”</p><p>Justin shot him a blank look, and gave a careless shrug. “Well, it’s not like I asked you to follow me around, you know? You could always wander off and find something to do yourself. Don’t always need me around for that,” he loudly sucked on the straw then, instantly reminding William of his childish behavior earlier back at the café, and now the only thing William could do was shake his head and groan before he’d finally lost his temper.</p><p>“Will you just knock it off already?” William angrily snapped, drawing lots of looks from the people around them. Even Stan was looking in their direction, wondering what the hell was going on this time. William couldn’t help but feel embarrassed again; just like before.</p><p>“Yes, Dad,” Justin quipped in a mocking tone of voice, causing William further agitation.</p><p>“Look, Church. I’m your friend and you will always get nothing but total honesty from me,” William stated then. “But you need to get your act together, pronto! You’re in the AMF now, that means you’re no longer a child and need to start acting like a young man. Maybe you didn’t hear it from your father, but you’re definitely going to hear it from me, because you’ve done nothing but act like a jerk all day, and I’m not putting up with it anymore, you hear!”</p><p>Justin’s expression turned somber then, right as the jazz band in the back began to play their own rendition of “Silent Night.” Now worried that he might’ve pushed William away for good, he decided to apologize and show William that he meant it too.</p><p>“You’re right, I have been acting like a brat, haven’t I?” Justin admitted with a heavy sigh, before walking over to the nearest trash bin and tossing the rest of his drink inside.</p><p>William seemed a bit surprised that Justin would willingly throw out something he’d just spent his own money on, but he figured Justin had only done so in order to demonstrate to him that he was going to act more serious from now on.</p><p>“And no my father never gave me the talk either,” Justin continued after he walked back over. “He was never there for me when I needed him to be, when it counted.” Sadness filled Justin’s face and his eyes even welled with tears, before he lifted the end of his scarf up to his face and wiped them away. “I guess I just sometimes forget who I’m supposed to be now.”</p><p>William frowned, hoping he hadn’t been too hard on him.</p><p>“So, I guess what I’m trying to say here is; thanks for setting me straight,” Justin looked at him, forcing a smile. “You don’t have to take on the role of my dad or anything, but I can see you’re positive influence in my life and that’s really all that matters.”</p><p>Now William was smiling. He couldn’t help but feel happy over learning that he’d been a positive influence in someone’s life for a change, rather than a negative reminder of his ancestor’s wrong-doings.</p><p>Then the next thing they both knew, Stan was coming over to let them know the tree lighting was starting.</p><p>“My apologies for interrupting your conversation but they’re lighting the tree now,” Stan announced, tapping William on the shoulder.</p><p>A look of pure joy filled Justin’s face, and he hurried over to join the gathering crowd. William and Stan exchanged looks once again, and then headed over to join him.</p><p>“This is it, are you ready?” Justin turned to them, only to receive quiet nods in response. Turning his attention back to the tree, Justin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was a lot like waiting for the ball to drop on New Years; nothing but total anticipation and excitement all around. Everyone had gone silent then, including the live band for that matter, when all of a sudden, bright and colorful lights of all varying colors, came to life, illuminating the silhouette of the large tree as well as the decorations throughout. A slew of wondrous gasps now erupted from the audience, followed by a loud round of applause and cheers when the golden star at the top suddenly came on.</p><p>The live band immediately began to play <em>O Christmas Tree</em> in that moment, and Justin couldn’t help but tear up at the beautiful sight before him. There was something about the combination of those beautiful lights and hearing that song that just felt so complete in his mind; almost perfect. Everyone around him was smiling, even Stan, who appeared to be just as mesmerized by the beauty of the tree as everyone else. Even as a machine, trying to find the words to describe such a majestic sight eluded him. Did such words even exist? He wasn’t sure.</p><p>“Sight for sore eyes, ain’t it?” Justin mentioned then, still in awe over the tree’s breathtaking beauty.</p><p>“I’m glad we made it here on time,” William replied with a soft smile, admiring the view as well, when Justin just had to say something stupid to ruin the moment.</p><p>“Those blue lights on the tree are practically the same color as your hair, Will.”</p><p>William rolled his eyes. “You just had to ruin it, didn’t you?”</p><p>Justin chuckled and smirked. “Merry Christmas, Will. And you too, Stan.”</p><p>“Merry Christmas,” Stan replied plainly, his gaze still fixated on the tree before them as though it were the most amazing thing he’d ever witnessed. He was finally beginning to understand more about this Christmas and its affect on the humans, because he now recognized the effect it was having on himself.</p><p><em>Am I feeling joy?</em> He wondered then.</p><hr/><p>
  
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